JFK-1

SunSport revealed that Sheffield United are the latest English side tracking Glen Kamara. Clubs are queueing up to watch Kamara play and scouts from the Premier League flock to Rangers games every week to see him in action. That could turn the head of a lot of players with ambitions to reach the top. But Neil McCann is close enough with Kamara to be able to say with real certainty that the 25-year-old will NOT agitate for a move any time soon. “That’s what is driving Glen now — a desire to lift silverware with Rangers. He won’t be pushing to leave in January. I can say that 100 per cent. "I believe he feels an affinity to the club already. FULL ARTICLE

I have a suspicion the yahoos will make an attempt to strengthen the likes of the sheep with loans. They don't care care any more about the fortunes of the sheep than we do but this title could be a close run thing. A loan player turning a defeat into a draw against us could swing it. We should do the same with loans to hubz/heartz. Polster and Docherty need game time.

Kent has quite a strike when he latches on to one. That one at hubz was with his right foot and he is right footed. But that wont put him off if it simply happens to fall on his left foot. He wont mess around giving them time to block it by taking a touch to get it on his right. He will just go for it. His goal on Sunday was with his left and I remember being impressed back in November when he scored with a rocket from his left foot at Hamilton.

Anyone such as English latching on this mindless crap is merely an attention begging shit stirrer. English knows there isn't a footballing authority anywhere which goes along with this nonsense. It's an already done to death meaningless concept so why even keep talking about it.

I like that one too. Looks gifted and at only 21 can run all day and will have a good sell on value.

Rangers utility man Matt Polster is keen to remain in Scotland as transfer interest in taking him back across the Atlantic mounts. Several MLS clubs are looking to tempt the US international back to the US top flight this month. But the 26-year-old does not want to head home with his tail between his legs, having failed to make the breakthrough with Steven Gerrard 's team. Polster is preparing to tie the knot with girlfriend Brittany Held in Las Vegas this weekend but will also spend time weighing up his next move. Visa issues make a move to England unlikely as he would have to submit a fresh work permit application to the Football Association. Instead, he will be staying north of the border amid interest from at least three Ladbrokes Premiership clubs. The former Chicago Fire man convinced Gerrard to hand him a two-and-a-half-year deal 12 months ago after impressing on trial. But the midfield anchor has struggled to dislodge the likes of Ryan Jack and Steven Davis from the Ibrox line-up and has made just five appearances so far. Polster can also operate at right-back but was stuck behind James Tavernier even when the Rangers skipper's form took a worrying dip during the early months of the campaign. Gerrard's team has largely picked itself in recent weeks, having closed to within two points of Celtic with a game in hand following Sunday's Old Firm win at Parkhead, and Polster has struggled even to get into the matchday 18. He made his Gers debut as a late substitute against Hearts at Tynecastle back in April but had to wait until the 6-0 Europa League romp over Gibraltarian minnows St Joseph's at the start of this season for his first start. He started again at right-back against East Fife in a Betfred Cup clash, but his last two outings against Hamilton and Motherwell have lasted a combined total of 32 minutes. https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-transfer-news/matt-polster-wants-remain-rangers-21202386

Obviously good for attempting to maintain match sharpness and fitness. Listening to a podcast after the win over them some journos were commenting on Rangers fitness levels. It was mentioned that one of the first things Gerrard said when he came in was that the squad weren't fit enough in his view. It was agreed that's not the case now and that they looked fitter and stronger than the yahoos. Barisic in particular was mentioned because he took off his shirt at the end which had one commenting that he had the body of a professional boxer to which the other replied Tavernier is the same. I think fitness and overall body strength are a big thing for Gerrard. Watched an old interview recently in which he mentioned that in one of his first starts for Liverpool at age 18 against Totenham they played him in a defensive role and he found himself up against Ginola. He said in the interview that following this game he had doubts creeping in regarding his ability to hack it at that level. He had found Ginola way too strong him as he was simply brushed aside. Afterwards the manager who was Houllier took him aside and talked to him about it because he could see what Gerrard was thinking. Good man management. Houllier effectively told him that he was a boy in a mans game but not to worry because they were going to be doing intensive work over the next 6 months to strengthen him up. Gerrard is shaping a team of athletic muscle men because he knows how crucially important that is at the very top level.

Yeah I would agree that he shouldn't even have acknowledged this drivel. And I would agree that it's likely he and others at board level rarely encounter it. In general comes from the lowest of the low on the IQ scale. The mentally challenged of the mentally challenged. The village idiot in a village of idiots. The kind who think their grunt truly inventive who couldn't read and comprehend the instructions on a pot noodle far less the details of a complex tax case. I have a brother who actually is a tax expert. He has worked for HMRC for almost 40 years and used to be in charge of a tax fraud department before moving to customs at Glasgow airport. He has had some of these imbeciles actually accosting him about Rangers when they find out he's a tax man. He answers their questions affirming that in every way it's the same club but is then 'educated' by them on how wrong he is and how obviously more knowledgeable they are on these issues than he and his 4 decades of professional expertise is. It's a pointless exercise.

A rehearsal for the Barisic/Katic goal on Sunday. Remarkably similar.

You shouldn't believe it because I say it. But when the manager and the chairman both say it then you have to start giving it credibility. And let's just examine the situation. The board have brought in the most high profile manager the club has had in decades. Arguably the most high profile manager we have ever had. A footballing legend known the world over. What did they bring him in for? The answer is they brought him in to win the league and knock this 10iar nonsense on the head. He then builds a team and maneuvers it into a position where they can do that. Now having done that I have to believe him and his chairman when they both say no key players leaving in January. Because if key players were sold off in January I feel they could very well have blown this league and not just this one. The next one too. You seriously think Gerrard after having being asked to get us into this position is just going to sit quietly while they snatch it away from him? For what? Throw it all away for some money that could just as easily be realised in the Summer? If they were to sell key players now there is no way they could be replaced like for like at a price we would pay. If they could be then those replacements are the ones the EPL clubs would be going for. And If you're not foreseeing the fan meltdown that would incur I really don't know how else to paint it. And yes as I have mentioned before whether you think it's dramatic or not the manager too would be melting down if they snatch it all away from him at this crucial time. Yahoos from the mouth of Lennon promising to strengthen and we weaken? And there's more at stake for Gerrard than just stopping their run of league wins. If he can pull this off his reputation soars to complement the kudos he has been getting for the Euro results. If they were to sell key players in January they would be looking like the idiots Spiers painted them as for hiring Gerrard. If you think they are so stupid as to throw away the chance to stop this yahoo run and seriously damage their relationship with the manager we're going to have to agree to disagree. I don't think they're that stupid.

Alfie is arguably the most high profile player in Scotland and inarguably the best striker. If any of the other teams were so lucky as to have him he would be hero worshiped just as he is at Rangers. Simply being a Rangers player is the major factor in the bile directed at him. It's hard to belittle his talent though they still try to but his stats make that somewhat empty and expose the witless nature of it. So from there they have to turn to personal insults thrown at a young guy who to my knowledge is something of a role model. He's married and as far as i'm aware never seen in pubs and clubs so presumably is spending his time with his family and supports multiple charities in his poverty stricken homeland. I often wonder what the black players in their own team think of the despicable racism directed at him.

Good summary of it all with the guys pretty much agreeing with everything we have to say and complain about. Including inconsistent refereeing. https://play.acast.com/s/recordrangers/974e198b-382d-458e-8784-a6d68596836a

Bit early for me here in Oklahoma, 6:30pm here but happy new year to you all. We could hardly have hoped for better Rangers wise.

Here's the deal, they have had almost a decade of zero competition. Despite fantasies of being competitors from the likes of the sheep the reality in Scotland is that no one but they or us can win this league. In the 2011-12 season when they won the first of their current run we were in disarray and were also docked 10 points. The following 4 seasons we weren't even in it then on our return were still in a state of having to re-establish ourselves. When the sheep are taking second place which was the case for two seasons after our return you know there is still no competition. Then 18 months ago in comes Steven Gerrard who despite the mockery at his appointment had an immediate impact. Suddenly they find themselves actually losing matches to us again and while they still took the title it wasn't the procession they had become accustomed to. Now we have this season when not only is there an actual credible title race for the first time in so many years there are some knowledgeable pundits now beginning to tip Rangers as favourites to be champions. Cue meltdown from their camp and it's acolytes. It's been so long since they felt any actual competition around that their psyche just can't cope with it. It appears to have been compounded by the fact that everyone is acting as if this is something that has just crept up on them out of the blue so to speak. They blinded themselves to reality in so many ways. One important factor is the aforementioned appointment of Steven Gerrard. We all know the cries. I don't need to repost the Spiers tweet again since we have all seen it so many times but his reaction wasn't unusual. It was simply a typical example of what the entire crowd of haters and media pundits were saying. And that's a major reason this meltdown is becoming so classic. They apparently truly didn't see this coming when in my view at least it was obvious what was brewing. They have been outplayed by Rangers in at least 4 of the last 6 encounters while they carried an incredible amount of luck. They may have been lulled into a false sense of security by the manner in which it developed I suppose. Even in this season we didn't always see what you might call any dramatically instant and consistent display of the turnaround. I feel the team has gradually worked towards the current level of performance rather than producing it from the outset. But it's here now for all to see. And it's so traumatic for them that they're retreating into tired old fantasies they have been frothing at the mouth over for years now. But, but, they're skint. Currently there is apparently a belief that we're so skint the core of the team will be sold off in January. I have been hearing that one from my own Celtic supporting brother in law who despite his choice of team is usually a rational person. Yet right now he too is descending into the trauma of looking for any route out of this 'disaster' no matter how irrational. As well as looking for our team to be sold off in January their fans are looking for some sort of spectacular January signings to salvage the situation. But I have my doubts regarding how realistic that is. They have a large squad of high earners which is dependent on CL income to support while they have had no CL income the past two seasons. They have made a couple of good sales such as Dembele and Tierney but where does that money go? Is it banked as their fans think or is it simply replacing that CL money to pay that wage bill? We will see. Rangers are now firmly in the driving seat. The bulk of our pre split games are at home while the bulk of theirs are away. I feel there has to be a distinct possibility that they may drop more points than we do. In recent weeks they have been flattering to deceive against even lower level opposition. It took an injury time goal at home to avoid dropping 2 points to Hamilton. I have seen even their own crowd in unguarded moments admit that they're struggling to get results against anybody at all. While we have laboured to a 1-0 win against Killie it was simply a struggle to score through as well organised a brick wall as I have seen in sometime. But we were always totally in control. We have been playing better than them across the board for sometime now. I'm confident their trauma will maintain and perhaps even climb to new levels. Our first league match following the break is at home to St Mirren which I expect we're all confident will be a standard win. Their first league game following the break is away to Killie and I doubt they're anything like super confident about that. Their trauma will be eating away at them throughout this break just worrying about that in itself. It's been a long haul these past 7 years but I think we can now say the banter years are well and truly behind us. If you think the current meltdown is impressive just watch what happens if we continue to look like taking this league starting with a letdown for them at stuffy old Killie on Wednesday 22nd January 2020. As Stevie G himself says, let's go.

Well if they're going to investigate they need to look into the possibility of infiltration by Hammerby fans or the like. Because that happens. Doesn't it?

It's not an answer for everything but would have ruled out both of their recent goals against us. As for Clancy the penalty decision though we fortunately got away with it really irritates me. He's given a penalty for what happens at corners in pretty much every game every week. Yet we don't see penalties given at corners in every game every week. And if that was a penalty why isn't this? He couldn't see this? It was pretty clear to me even as it played out live. Primed to start at the relevant time.

I have commented a few times over recent months that I didn't think the team had peaked yet. I now think it's approaching peak but still not quite 100% peak. They can't handle what we have right now. When it hits full peak it's going to be even clearer for all to see that we have a better team than they do. I feel that after a few early teething issues our 'rookie coach' has been evolving into a tactically shrewd operator. And that aside I think he has from day one shown an expert eye for recruiting players and getting the best out of them. Look at the 'freebies' he gathered for just one thing. Our midfield trio which dominated them cost a total of 50K. It's totally his team now. Of the 11 who started this victory only 3 were not players he recruited the 3 being Tav, Jack and Morelos.. And look at the money he has effectively banked for the club. It must be approaching 30 million from Europe and how much is Barisic now worth? That's while not even mentioning Kamara who cost so relatively little he could almost be classed as a freebie and now probably worth millions. Joe Aribo, what was it 300K? Another also destined to return millions. I had my reservations when Gerrard was hired. Now it looks like a master stroke and just one more thing we have to thank Dave King for. And how could I possibly say that without throwing this in another time. ?

Might be the oddest window we have seen in sometime. Last January and in the Summer we all knew there was room for improvement. There's always room for improvement but this time we have a team that according to Gerrard just progressed to the knockout stages of the Europa league from a CL level group. His words not mine. It's difficult to see how we could strengthen the first 11 in this window without spending major money and I don't see that happening. Though top quality out of contract freebies can often be available in Summer windows and we're now at a level where they need to be exceptional quality to improve anything. Even the backups are of an impressive quality. Match winner Katic is a backup for crying out loud. All the talk coming from the club seems to have revolved around trimming the squad of 3rd choices who are never going to get into the picture. Poor Greg Docherty. Even Gerrard feels for him. He would likely have been a starter just a couple of years ago. The yahoo crowd are screaming for recruitment in January but I feel they may find that despite their notions of great wealth it's they not us who might be hitting a wall. They have a wage bill that requires CL money to maintain. CL money they haven't acquired in the past two seasons and now have real fears of not getting it next either. Yep. Funny old window.

There is nothing dramatic about it but if you want it toned down OK the fans would say little to nothing, selling key players wouldn't send them into a frenzy. And Gerrard would be the same. And all everybody else is saying that what you're proposing is so unlikely that it's not even worth proposing in the first place. It's a non starter.

All this started because you said this. That's not a misquote that's the whole quote. No mention of being unlikely to sell key players. We are in a position to be knocking back bids. We're now in a position of advantage in the league. We have a chairman and a manager repeatedly maintaining that key players are not for sale at any price and 50 million was quoted by Gerrard. He practically said read my lips. I think that's clear enough to believe them. Now if you don't that's up to you. I do. The meltdown among the fans would be of epic proportions and I suspect Gerard may even threaten to walk if they were to propose selling any of his key players at this time after he staunchly maintained it wouldn't happen.

Unless you want to think King and Gerrard too for that matter are being 'fanciful' and are prepared to look stupid by backtracking on their statements.

Who would want to leave a team on the point of something spectacular and I don't mean just the league. I wouldn't be surprised if Gerrard has convinced them they can win the Europa league. Aside from the fact it's just the way he is he has his own 'miracle of Istanbul' example to give them. Liverpool were underdogs all the way from the groups to the final.

We dominated the midfield with a trio that cost a total of 50K ?

That's another of the reasons I feel it's not even a passing thought. Aside from the sheer stupidity at this point with everything on the line can you imagine the reaction of the fans? There would be a meltdown. Can't think to imagine what Gerrard would say as he closes in on such a momentous accomplishment for the club and for him. His face and reactions yesterday are an indication of it. He spends 18 months trying to create this situation and they take it away from him on the brink? Truly absurd.